The Lasting Effects of Bad Parenting: Effects of Dysfunctional Parenting on Functional Impairment Through Antisocial Personality

Although exposure to dysfunctional parenting styles in childhood can have lasting, negative impacts on overall functioning into adulthood, it remains unclear why. We explored the idea that perceived dysfunctional parenting may influence the cultivation of antisocial personality traits that remain into adulthood and account for links between perceived dysfunctional parenting and current life impairment. As such, in an adult sample (<i>N</i> = 446; <i>M</i>_age = 46.10; 51% female; 78.0% White), we investigated whether one's current level of sadism and psychopathy mediated the relationship between reports of perceived exposure to dysfunctional parenting in childhood and current functional impairment, beyond effects of basic personality such as agreeableness and conscientiousness. Participants completed validated measures of sadism, psychopathy, agreeableness, conscientiousness, perceived dysfunctional parenting, and functional impairment. We found that perceived dysfunctional parenting styles (i.e., maternal indifference, maternal abuse, maternal/paternal overcontrol) experienced during childhood enhanced current functional impairment via heightened levels of current psychopathy; however, these effects became nonsignificant when including agreeableness and conscientiousness in modeling. Moreover, conscientiousness partially mediated effects of maternal indifference, maternal abuse, and maternal/paternal overcontrol on functional impairment. Perceived dysfunctional parenting in childhood may contribute to the cultivation of personality constructs that are maintained into adulthood that influence present-day functional impairment.